Thread by @timkmak

SCOOP: Secret recording obtained by NPR shows that Senate Intel Chairman Richard Burr raised alarms about Coronavirus weeks ago in private meeting with well-connected constituents -- concerns he never shared with the public

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

To understand this, we have to remember Feb. 27th: Only 15 Coronavirus cases in U.S., and first death in US had not occurred.

Trump was suggesting it could be seasonal.

"It's going to disappear. One day, It's like a miracle. It will disappear,"

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

On that same day, Burr delivered alarming message at a private luncheon:

"[Coronavirus] is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history... It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic."

We have the tape:
npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

The luncheon had been organized by the Tar Heel Circle, a nonpartisan group whose membership consists of businesses/orgs in North Carolin.

Membership to join the Tar Heel Circle costs between $500 and $10,000.

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

In attendance, according to a copy of the RSVP list obtained by NPR, were individuals whose companies or political committees donated more than $100,000 to Burr's election campaign in 2015 and 2016

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

Thirteen days before the State Department began to warn against travel to Europe, and fifteen days before the Trump administration banned European travelers, Burr warned those in the room to reconsider.

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

"Every company should be cognizant of the fact that you may have to alter your travel. You may have to look at your employees and judge whether the trip they're making to Europe is essential or whether it can be done on video conference. Why risk it?" Burr said.

Sixteen days before NC closed its schools, Burr warned it could happen.

"There will be, I'm sure, times that communities, probably some in North Carolina, have a transmission rate where they say, let's close schools for two weeks, everybody stay home"

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

And Burr invoked the possibility that the military may be mobilized to combat the Coronavirus. Only now, three weeks later, is the public learning of that prospect.

See photo below for what Burr said.

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

Burr has a unique perspective: He helped to write the legislative framework for pandemic response

But in his public comments about the threat of COVID-19, Burr never offered the kind of precise warning that he delivered to a small group of constituents.

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

Burr has not been silent. He has talked about how his legislative framework has given the govt tools to fight pandemics. He's questioned a CDC official on pandemic surveillance capabilities.

But no public warning like he did in that luncheon

npr.org/2020/03/19/818…

In sum:

"Despite his longtime interest in bio-hazard threats, his expertise... and his role as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr did not warn the public of the government actions he thought might become necessary, like he did at the luncheon on Feb. 27."